One Step Closer
by RandomSheepdog
Summary: Raito always promised to one day destroy L and bring "justice" into the world. But when he finds himself ensnared in a deadly trap, how far will he really go?
1. Awakening

_Drip drip drip_

'_That's enough of the investigation for today…'_

_Drip drip drip_

'_I'll be making my way home now…'_

_Drip drip drip_

'_I hope I…'_

_Drip_

'_See you again tomorrow.'_

_Drip._

--

Morning, must still have been darkness outside.

Deep inside the brain of an auburn-haired, teenaged boy, a flicker of consciousness began to stir.

The last thing the man could recall from the other day was "working" on the case with L. As Raito rose from his dream state, his head rolled lazily about his shoulder, the dizzy old fog of sleep paralysis still fondling him. In the black plane behind their lids, half-awoken eyes sat idly, still amusing themselves with the stale remnants of dreams already forgotten.

However, in his ignorant head, a few moments later… all his touch and hearing, and smell and sight… would bring to him a creeping—unsettling--realization. A small shift of his feet invited him to a rough and disturbing touch. Not a thing one naturally experiences in his blanket.

Cold.

Raito felt a twinge of fear inside of him. Was he still in his dream? He eased his neck over and groped around, expecting and hoping to feel the soft touch of bedding on his skin.

The chilling again.

What was that confounded cold feeling? It was a little damp… and it seeped into his flesh with a harsh impudence… As he wriggled his toes a little, it felt like… almost like… _concrete?_

He was still left clinging on to his half-resting haze. It probably was just another figment of his dream world. The cold stone, a draft, which only concealed the warm security of a bed sheet.

Concrete? A hard stone floor? It couldn't be…

But his drowsiness was to abandon him. He then realized that, in all reality… that he was definitely not in his bed. In fact, the brunette man wasn't even lying down.

A sharp jolt pierced his heart… he had never been here before.

Drip

After his eyes shot open and a quick survey was taken of his environment, he figured that the pitch darkness in the room was not due to natural dawn tranquility… but because this ominous place he had awoken in probably had no windows.

Snapping to his senses, the panic built up. His fingers started to come alive with feeling, and found themselves wrapping around the slick, steel arms of a chair. Raito tried to lift his arms. They were stuck. He could not make out anything in the void in front of him, which made him all the more nervous. A chilling air was nipping at his face.

Drip

Wherever he was, it was wet, apparently. That ghostly water was falling somewhere in the vicinity. A haunting, grimy scent strolled in the air. He couldn't even see it, but guessed that the room probably looked just as it smelled.

There was no doubt, though—this was a kidnapping.

But obviously. The facts were all at hand. Raito had arrived in a mysterious place against his will. He was sticking to a chair, and it was dark.

Of course, the first decision was to point the finger at L. Any lunatic who would have wanted Raito dead could have killed him already. That bastard detective must have been the answer. Was the man watching him at this very moment, with some kind of night vision camera?

The brunette flustered with rage. How dare that man! More so yet, where had he slipped up? Scanning his memory, he could recall absolutely _no_ mistakes in his trademark disguise and eloquence that would have set off a sudden attack such as this. Maybe he had slipped up long ago… and simply not known it.

Raito rejected the idea. Kira _knew_ his own thoughts, by lord. Perhaps L would just do this out of his own stupid, confounded arrogance. That L… Could it be that somewhere… Misa was in a similar situation? It would make sense.

But if L was truly watching him… why didn't he speak up?

Just then, he took notice of something more.

It was when he turned his head to look for any shapes or forms in the area that it became obvious. As the man's neck turned around, a cold sensation brushed his skin, almost like the end of a stethoscope on one's chest. Something was holding him there. Smooth and metallic-feeling, he aimed to touch it.He had forgotten, however, that his forearms had been stuck to the chair by something. Of course, if this_was_ L's doing… he would try to tie the suspect up in some way, right?

Although, when he gave a little struggle… something he expected to be useless… his arms came clean away with a fabric-like ripping sound. As it turned out, all that held them down were a few measly pieces of tape. As if the restraint was not to keep him still, but just to keep him from slipping in his sleep.

So much for tying up the suspect. What was going on?

His attention turned back to the thing brushing his neck. He reached up and ran his fingertips over the hard, flexible accessory. Apparently, it was a thick, thick wire.

Reaching all around more with his hands, not standing up due to the lack of vision, he could feel a concrete wall directly behind him, damp and frigid, just like the floor beneath. Somewhere along the wall, Raito found a hole. A small hole… with a hard wire leading through it. So, the thing tethering him… it did not tie into the room… it led somewhere. But… where? Was there a point to it?

His heart was still in a panicked flutter, and the paranoia was growing thicker by the second. His mind raced. L… was it even L? Shaking his head, he gripped the chair's arms and pushed himself up.

The paranoid flutter became a terrified thundering as when Raito's body pulled upwards, a hundred sharp, metallic stings shredded themselves into his flesh.

He withdrew at once, the shock wracking him. Chilling down, he waited for the hot trickle of blood to begin seeping from the wounds. Thankfully, although his legs were bare—covered in nothing save for a thin pair of boxer shorts—none seemed to come, save for a trickle here and there.

Anxiously curious fingers rushed to the site of the little jolts. In horror, the man lightly ran his palms all over his hurt legs. Covering them… and he could feel them displaying their threatening teeth…

Were coils upon coils of glistening razor wire.

What the hell? Would L have really fallen off the deep end and turned to some kind of torture to draw out a confession?

He wriggled, trying to detect, without hurting himself, the extent of the brutal restraints. They were everywhere down there, a small few wrapping around his waist… a multitude of them on his lower legs, and in vicious clusters around his ankles.

He was beginning to doubt that this was L's doing. Would the detective really have gone to this extent, while having so much power in that black, messy head of his alone? What if some person, a Kira-hater, perhaps, had managed to ferret out his secret and finally sprung this abduction on him? It sounded impossible… no man besides L could ever match Kira in his levels of dexterity and stealth. Sure, _L_ would go far as to illegally install security cameras in the homes of "unsuspecting" students, but this… this was just weird. And the tape that had loosely held his arms… along with that obscure wire in the wall, didn't help any suspicions.

Groping around the razors, Raito was surprised when he came across another thing. It stood out greatly against the wires… for it was not cold and stiff, it was small and soft.

A string.

He leaned downwards delicately, careful of the chewing knives. The little string hung from the razor wire at his left side. Running down it, he found something attached to it sitting on the wet floor… something it was tied around. The discovery of something new in this room granted him a little hope…

Raito picked the object up. It was smooth and square and plastic, almost like a camera. But a further survey with his fingers revealed an array of buttons on the thing. It was…

A tape recorder?

He squinted his eyes close to it. He could just make out the shapes of letters on the buttons. A tape recorder it was indeed, a small one. In the little plastic window that came on the side, he could see what was evidently a tape. Trapped and helplessly confused, Raito had nothing to lose, did he? Whoever was behind this… they would have left a tape tied up with him for a reason. There was no other explanation, no other conclusion.

He was supposed to play it.

The auburn-haired man's heart palpitated as he thought about what sort of message was held in store for him. Was he going to get out? What if it was a death sentence… was he just being left here to perish miserably?

With fearful thoughts, he raised the device to his ear… and pressed 'play.'

Up next, rolling grainily into his head… came a deep, foreboding voice that chilled him.

"_Hello, Raito…_

…_I would like to play a game."_

--

**Yeah, you know what kind of crossover this is****… XD I really was surprised that I couldn't find any written already. Sigh me and my crossovers… and cliffhangers… And yeah, the title is a Linkin Park song. Couldn't think of what else to call it.**

**Reviews appreciated, constructive criticism and all that…**

**To be continued…**


	2. God

It was late, sometime after midnight. The digital clock on his laptop screen read quarter past twelve. All of the investigation team had gone home already, and L was left all alone.

Not that this was a negative thing. The detective enjoyed solitude to a degree, and the tranquility of the darkness was a pleasure to have. The glare of the screen in front of him would be thought to be a nuisance, but after a while, one adjusts easily to it. Or at least this was how things worked in the mind of L.

His fingers fiddled compulsively over a box of doughnuts, placed conveniently at his side. Wriggling his hand around a powdered one, he lifted the treat to his lips and munched dully. Sweetening his mouth a little, he began thinking about Raito.

'That's enough of the case for today, I hope I see you again tomorrow.'

What a horrible line. Raito… That man was Kira, without a doubt. But, how exactly? All the facts existed on different levels of his mind. On one, he knew that the possibility of him being Kira was in the single digits. But, there was another part, a less factual one… that could sniff out the actual 'truth' in an instant.

And that truth was… Yagami Raito was most definitely the killer.

But, why? Raito, by what he could tell… was a smart man. He should be able to possess in all actuality that strong sense of justice of which he flaunted. Be better than Kira… stronger. More like _L_. Why would he waste his precious time on such a superficial ideal? The cleansing of the world… it was impossible.

No matter who you were… no matter how you killed.

Without warning, L felt something in his head. Coincidentally, it was very similar to the little rant he was just reciting in his thoughts.

It drifted into the back of his skull through a tingle in his spine, like a toxic cloud threatening to suffocate him.

The feeling… of being watched.

Curious. Surely, none could be watching him… L kept a strict mental count of anyone who entered and exited the room. The chance of someone next to him, seeing, hearing, watching… such a thing was less than a single digit… he'd be damned if it wasn't a decimal, by god.

Just as a clash of instinct and safety precaution, however, L intensified focus upon his ears and listened into the void.

The silence closed in, and the light of the computer was canceled out by his concentration.

To the detective's utter disturbance, spots of carpet were being flattened rhythmically behind him.

Or was it his own heart?

The fear felt like a weasel gnawing upon his neck. The sounds of his own breathing collided with another airy rustle…

As L leaned counter-clockwise in his chair, the thumping drew upon him quicker. He had prayed for the vacancy of his vision, but his chest constricted with terror as he could just make out the shape of a dark figure, the face of what looked like a pig and a demon with frightening black tresses flashing before him in the dark…

The man was out cold.

--

A blind misery was pulsing in his head as the detective lay low in the darkness.

It was cold. So cold… in his mind, he was still asleep. But oh, how all good things come to an end.

Remembering what had happened to him the night prior, the man shot straight awake and exposed himself to the horrid isolation of his new environment. He found himself slumping in a steel chair, some kind of soft resistance around his arms. The terror that had left his skin during his hours of being unconscious was creeping back up on him with a vengeance.

L blinked. It was quiet… too quiet, and the room around him was pitch black.

Drip

Underneath his toes, it was stone hard—and damp. The dampness pierced his feet with all the viciousness of a knife—L was never used to dealing with any discomfort. He usually had a warm, soft hotel room or the like to sit in, with a nice box of sweets and tea to keep him company. This place, however, was frigidly heartless to his skin… and scented of a dirty rain puddle in the middle of the city.

L started to hunch his neck over, seeing as he was certainly not in his trademark position, but was halted by something icy and needle-like knifing into him.

_Drip_

Caught in a state of genuine shock, L's arms tore themselves up from their places on the chair. Bony fingers fumbled around his neck, and there, made a horrific discovery.

Placed firmly, yet delicately, around his frail skin was a thick piece of wire. Jutting from it were, snarling at his flesh, an array of incredibly sharp and malevolent razorblades. He nearly cut himself by simply trying to feel for the thing. Somewhere along it, the razored part turned smooth… it was coiled around his neck in almost a cross between a noose and a slip-chain for an animal. The smooth part ceased shortly, though. It turned back into the wicked razor wire only a few inches away from his skin. He was on a leash, of sorts… ever so gently, he worked his hand along the line.

The nasty blades led him to a cold concrete wall, bearing a hole in it of which the wire slipped through.

L remembered that horrible, pig-faced invader who came at him during the night. Who would do such a thing to him? Or better yet… what was happening in the first place?

Mulling over the possibilities in his head, his thoughts were suddenly broken by a haunting, grainy voice floating over from behind him.

--

"_Hello, Raito. I would like to play a game. In the more recent days of your life, you have sacrificed your promising future to dedicate your mind to purifying the world of evil. That's good. But now, you wish to take innocent victims in order to fulfill your goals.You hold the lives of others in your very hands, playing God. And pride yourself with that. Bu—"_

Raito's fingertip threw itself upon the 'stop' key. This mysterious person, the man on the tape… whoever must have kidnapped and restrained him here…

Did they _know_ that he was Kira?

Raito was significantly frightened now. But it was not the mere kidnapping that had him in alarm. It was that he was being held captive by a _stranger._ This whole setting… the room, the wire, the razors—oh, the razors—and the message on the tape… none of this smelled of L. He was _sure_ of it.

And not just due to actual evidence… a sinister gut feeling had him as well. He was also disturbed when the stings around his legs started to throb with a miserable burn, despite the fact that it had just seemed to have been going away.

The man rewound the tape a little, and resumed his fearful deduction of the thing.

_"—very hands, playing God. And pride yourself with that. But now, Kira, I, a proclaimed vigilante myself, hold you. Listen carefully… there is another man in the vicinity. A man I believe you know very well. But, he is not in the room with you… he is in the other… behind the hole in the wall. The two of you are connected by a tether. You will notice, Raito, that around your neck is a smooth wire… but around the other man's… is a noose of knives. At any moment, you may pull the wire… pull it as hard as you can… and the throat of the world's greatest detective… will be shredded into pieces, and all the blame will be placed on I alone. Yes. Right now, I give you the power that even as Kira, you lacked… But, there is a catch for you, heh heh heh... you have probably noticed by now the razored wires around your body. The way you will escape here, Raito, is by simply standing up. Press up hard through the razors. They are coated with a poison that intensifies the pain and will paralyze your body if you expose your blood too much to it. Far in front of you, there is a pair of pliers strong enough to cut the wires. Neither the razor wire—nor the tether around your neck—can be severed by bare hands alone. But, if you let the man behind you live… His method of escape is closer than yours. Yet it is also farther. He decides if you escape this place unharmed. Will you take this chance to rule the world, Raito? Or will you bow to the emotions of another human being for once...? Let the game begin."_

The message sent chills up his spine. The little wounds on his lower body ached even more. Was L…really here with him? Raito wanted evidence before he could do anything.

Raito felt a resistance on his neck. The wire was being tugged.

He moved his head a little. A slight jingling was heard from behind, and with a click, a beam of dirty light shone in through the hole. It was dim, even dimmer than the light in, for say, an old basement, and painted the area of which it illuminated with an uncomfortable, greenish splatter.

Raito peered delicately into the opening. What he saw… was a white sheet.

He opened his mouth, dreadfully afraid, knowing exactly what would answer it.

"Ryuu…zaki?"

There was a moment of silence, and then his voice came.

"Yagami-kun…?"

_'Let the game begin…'_

--

**To be continued.**

**Meh. Sorries for the delay. Usually I update sooner than this, but this story has just been a fog of writer's block to me. Anyways I hope this chapter was good. Nice and Jigsaw-ish sounding for ya? I'm hoping that it doesn't turn out to be suckish... So tell me if you're liking it. I've been a tad depressed lately.**


	3. The Cutting

Only parts of it were audible. As the tape played, L had been shamefully preoccupied with groping around for a light switch. But he caught it for the most part, an was frankly bewildered by what he was hearing.

The message from behind the wall both mystified and froze he detective. It was rather hushed, as in not a person speaking to him, but something like a phone, or a tape. That dreadful whisper coming out of the stone… did L hear… what he thought he had heard?

'He decides if you escape this place unharmed. Will you take this chance to rule the world, Raito? Or will you bow to the emotions of another human being for once?…

_'_…_Let the game begin.'_

Raito…

What on earth was Raito's name doing there?

The detective's fear swelled.

Before assuming any serious deductions, he collected his thoughts in typical L manner. Assess the situation first—it was dark, damp—frightening and unknown. He could not see, and there was that horrid bind of sorts around his neck.

So, what _could_ he do?

Aside from those little pieces of—tape, had it been? That previously bound his arms, and the _thing_… L's body was completely free to move around. Whatever was going on, his first guess was that he was not here to die—whatever monster had kidnapped him could have killed him already, had they wanted to. But what if the recording was just to fake him out, and it turned out to be even worse—could some ghastly mercenary of Kira have kidnapped him, and be looking to torture the man in to a confession of being L… just to do away with him?

But all the same, there was still that curious threat…

Of the message…

Gently, he stood up from his chair, the steel arms pressing unkindly unto his palms. In the foreboding blackness of the area, he wriggled his foot—and proceeded among the floor. With great caution, of course, minding the ominous death-collar around him. He grasped the leash and slid it from the hole. Delicately, as to prevent injury.

One step came, and then another. And another. One by one, the detective became more confident in his movements across the cold floor. But after reaching only five feet or so, he came across a kind—yet somewhat disturbing—change.

His foot had landed on something warm and soft.

He bent down. There was a presence near he thing. Gingerly, he felt along it with his hands.

_A… person?_

He was about to comb the obscure figure some more, but was brought to a shock when as his left hand strayed to the floor, something sharp and cold brushed against it. His first instinct was that he had stumbled upon yet another hideous trap, like the wire… and sprang to his feet immediately, giving the leash behind him a taut pull.

His arm shot up into the air, clawing helplessly at nothing. But as he brought it down, he came across a thing that was definitely cold… but smooth and light.

_Light!_

With a jingle, he pulled hastily upon the string, and with the 'click' of reassurance came a glow of relief.

L stood still, shaking. The light granted was incredibly dull. It only offered the most prominent corners of the room, but as far as he could see, it was well enough. It was very plain; square, with dirty-looking concrete walls just as he suspected. On the right hand side there was a metal door, standing bold against the otherwise plainness. And lo, there… down in front of him…

The detective flinched in confusion.

His main reflex was _'dead body!'. _Of course, though… this was impossible, seeing as the person was still warm, and breathing, and…

_Matsuda?!_

It was barely discernable in the low light, but it was true. There he was, lying on the filthy floor, the incompetent man. He appeared to be unconscious, with his hands tied, his feet bound…. But, what on earth…

"_Ryuu…zaki?"_

He froze.

It was Yagami Raito's voice.

L mustered a curious response.

"Yagami-kun…?"

It took a few moments for the voice to respond. "Y-yes, it's me. Ryuuzaki… so you are here."

L took great suspicion to the phrase. "Yes. Yes, I am," he muttered, "What do you make of it?"

Raito hesitated. All the while, L took a few steps back, getting closer to the mysterious wall. So it was true… Raito was a part of this as well. The next sentence perplexed the detective.

"Do you have any idea how you got here?" The man behind the wall asked, a sort of insecurity alive in his tone.

"Why do you ask that?" L inquired himself.

"Because…" Raito answered, "I suspect that you and I are in the same situation."

L knew very well how _he_ got there… but felt he had to stress the subject further. "You imply that you don't know why you're here?"

"Why is a different story… but no, I can't remember."

L slumped. "Well, we certainly didn't sleepwalk our way in," he said, "It's quite obvious—we're looking at a kidnapping. And it's undoubtable… they must want us to do something."

Glancing downwards for a second, L's eye was caught by an object—on the chair that he was in. Positioned right on there, fixed above the top where he could clearly see it… was a clock. A digital one, to be exact, with big numbers all in glowing, vibrant red.

The time on it read, 'twelve-o-seven'.

Hw wondered...

"Say, Yagami-kun… What's it like on your side?"

Raito felt better not answering such a question.

The silence from beyond irritated L. "Yagami-kun. I'm simply asking… what's in there? Do you have a… a clock with you?"

"A clock?" He responded. Raito searched around. He saw nothing. A clock… was this some sick way in which the captor would choose to torture Raito and aid L?

But, as he leaned back towards the hole—he noticed it. Small and box-shaped, with big red numbers… Twelve-o-seven.

What did that mean?

So that was it. He—this mystery man on the tape recorder—apparently wanted them to know time. By the minute it was becoming clearer… This scene was definitely no joke. From him, to L to his throbbing legs and the razors. The entire message on the tape—it was serious. No one was coming to rescue them. And Raito… he would have to… to…

'_His method of escape is closer than yours… yet it is also farther.'_

Yes… that was it!

"Ryuuzaki, I don't know how early you woke up in this place, but there was a tape with me tha—"

"I believe I know," L interrupted.

Raito sighed. So the man should have heard… "Well, the man on it said something. He told me… that you knew how to get us out of here, or that you could. Do you see anything in there… anything at all… that might be of use to us?"

Anything that might be of use? L looked around. He wondered if it would be in good interest to trust these kidnappers or not. But either way, it was certainly worth a try.

His eye focused on a dry sparkle that glistened on the floor, not too far from the sleeping man. It was that pointed thing he had stepped on earlier.

_A knife!_

L's heart leaped with joy. A _knife_. Thank the lord… Breathing much easier, he tiptoed over to the spot where the tool lay, wrapping his light fingers around it and rushing back, ready to sever the unholy shining wire and get out of the place; he would solve the mystery of Matsuda on the floor later.

But—who would go to kidnap and restrain a pair of people, just to let them have such an easy route of escape?

"Yagami-kun… there's a knife in my room. However, my end of the tether is all razors… but I believe yours is smoother? Why don't you try it first?"

"Yes," he said. Using the little mobility he had, Raito twisted his arm over to the hole, where L gently slipped the blade through.

Grasping the handle firmly, Raito took a section of the leash. The smooth portion, he guessed, was significantly shorter than the razored one—L's half. With his left hand keeping the wire still, the right steadying the blade… the man's face tensed, and he began to cut.

But nothing happened.

Fear ignited in his chest, but pushing it away he quickened the pace.

But alas… the brazen cord wouldn't give. After a while of struggling, he gave up on himself and turned back to L for assistance.

"My hand isn't doing it, Ryuuzaki," he stammered, "Please, you'll get a better angle than I have. Can you at least try it with the razors?"

The words 'isn't doing it' frightened the detective, but he accepted it readily. With a strong 'yes' from him, Raito slid the knife on back to him.

Carefully, the raven took a section of the coil and pinned it flat beneath his palm. But thinking twice, L had another idea—he took the sleeve of his shirt and rolled it halfway up his hand, hoping that it would serve as some sort of shield against the teeth. With fraying nerves, he readied the blade—just as Raito had—and began.

Nothing.

It couldn't be. L snarled in silence as his arm pumped faster and faster. The knife flew in a desperate blur across the cord, dashes quickening with the speed of his angry pulse. The blade slid over with an unsettling smoothness—but the detective absolutely refused to give up.

All of a sudden, a dash of pain flooded from his hand. Staring down with a heavy heart, the detective saw the dark splotch growing at the cuff of his sleeve, a result of those damned razors.

But unlike his poor flesh, the wire remained unharmed.

_No…_

The detective shuddered and turned to face the invisible Raito. "It won't work for me either," he sighed, "It's funny, I suppose your man on the cassette was merely playing with us."

Raito's own sighing slump was just audible by the raven. The blade had failed the both of them, after all. Even though it was bleakly obvious… From the moment L had woken up in this dirty room, he had been plagued with the same horrid feeling—doubt. As if, under normal circumstances, he could see through this whole mess in a flash. But now, since he was actually scared and forlorn... locked in this dark, horrific place… at lord-knows-who's mercy with a noose of thorns around his neck… he simply couldn't do it.

As L retired to his regular, curly position on the cold steel chair, however—he noticed with a jolt a thing that had never belonged to him. It was little, square… and it dug into his side impudently.

There was something in his pocket.

Eagerly, he reached inside. Upon entrance, his fingers wrapped round something tiny and plastic. He removed it.

The thing that was with him—was a tape.

L looked at it.

He recalled that little message of Raito's that gave him such a chill… even with the few words he had managed to catch. With a twinge of panic, he called for his partner's attention.

"Yagami-kun…" He said, "You have that tape recorder with you…"

"Yes?" He breathed.

The detective made a light tapping on the concrete with his little piece of plastic.

"It says, 'play me'…"

--

**Yey...**

**You know, sometimes I think the cliffies get old... but, they have an everlasting purpose... give me time to think. As I mentioned in the previous A/N, writer's block. This chapter was kinda short and long at da same time...**

**To be continued.**


	4. Life

Slipping the now-empty tape recorder in the raven's direction, sweat began to roll down Raito's face.

And, although desperate and curious… L wasn't doing much better. Flicking open the device's door, he dropped the foreboding little cartridge inside, shutting it closed as one would shut a coffin door in on their loved on.

Finger touching on the 'play' key, the detective prepared for the husky tone to call in his direction.

_-Click.-_

_"Good morning, L. Or would you prefer I call you Ryuuzaki? If you are listening to this, then you have already met Raito… and therefore probably know by now that this is no joke. He may wish to listen as well. Detective, you make your living hunting down and convicting dangerous criminals… but today, you will be the murderer. I will explain why... At any time he wants, Raito may pull the wire joining the two of you, ending your reign as Kira's challenger forever. Now, you may hear this and think that you are completely helpless… but you would be mistaken. The only utensil you have strong enough to cut the tether is hidden in the body of your sleeping coworker. X marks the spot, Ryuuzaki. And given that you get out in time, you have a choice… you may let your friend continue with his game, or—you can seal his door from the outside, and leave Kira in here to rot. Now listen closely, the both of you. Decide quickly, as you may notice you have been given timers. At exactly one o'clock, both exits to your chambers will be locked permanently, and neither of you will win—ever. Live or die, L. make your choice."_

…

At first listen, he refused to believe it.

On the other end, Raito had listened intently. He grasped total understanding of what the other room must have looked like… Matsuda. That man had been dragged down too. It was a hideous web indeed. So, the detective's life was not completely in his hands.

Or was it?

In silence, Raito laughed wickedly at the situation. The kidnapper seemed to be driving in his favor. The man was a vigilante himself, after all… right? He beheld his prediction—L would never do it. He _could_ never do it. That pampered, messy-headed bastard of a detective would never kill another human being to save himself. If he would, then he would never have had the insolence to challenge Kira. L didn't kill. The helpless idiot. And let alone a close coworker of his—if it had been a total stranger on the floor, a slight alarm may have been worthy… but overall, Raito had this predicament in the bag. His knee rejoiced with a happy little bounce.

A cold steel nail dove into his shin. The pain started to sear. He cringed in terror—envisioning his poor and mangled legs.

_Never too easy, eh…_

In the meantime, L remained stunned.

Frozen in his chair by what he had just been told, the man wriggled his toes it fear. In that tiny piece of his brain that still held on, still wished that this was all just a terrible sort of nightmare… he believed that it was not true.. that he wouldn't need to… with his own hands…

But in his heart, he knew it was all too real…

For a sick boost to his memory had just arisen out of the blue.

"Yagami-kun," he said. His voice bordered on shaking—the near emotionless shield that he had hid himself in was starting to dwindle away.

"I'm listening."

The detective took a sigh before continuing. "I think I know who's behind all of this."

Raito jerked. "What?"

"The case had caught my interest…" He went on, "Though at the time, I had other matters to attend to. That's not important, but about this man…"

Raito waited anxiously for him to elaborate.

"Last time I heard, they were calling him "the jigsaw killer."

The name stirred a thought in the auburn-haired man's memory, but aside from that, the person was quite unknown.

Story time.

"But apparently, technically he wasn't truly a killer. It's a little complicated… since, as far as I can recall, he would never kill anyone. More or less, he found ways for his victims to kill themselves. Although, it wasn't that simple. You see, in a sense, he was… like Kira, a little bit."

Like _Kira,_ did he say?

"He wanted to change people for the better. His victims, they were people he would deem unworthy. Unworthy of being alive. People like drug addicts, suicidal people. But unlike a Kira-figure, he didn't kill them for their deeds. He tortured them, placed them through the most perilous of tests…"

Raito's eyebrows furrowed, chilly sweat dripped. "And that's exactly what he's doing to us."

"I suppose it is."

Now it fit together perfectly. The messages on the tapes had said it all. Time to 'play the game' now, eh? Stubbornly, he still insisted on _why. _In the message, this 'jigsaw killer' had spoken of Raito's murders, the ones of innocent people, in sacrifice for a greater good… the man felt it implied that this killer thought him to be arrogant.

How?

The bastard. How dare he! Raito began to fidget in his wires.

'…I, a proclaimed vigilante myself…'

The teeth continued to chew on him, not yet piercing the skin, but threatening. A serial murderer like Jigsaw should be able to understand. Why would he want to punish him? Kira was not 'unworthy' by any means at all; god no. L, he could understand, but…

Honestly. _Kira._

As Raito ranted about in his head, one angry little aspect still remained a mystery.

However clever this person was… how had he learned so much about the two men, anyway?

The silly man on the ground was still fast asleep.

And L continued to stare… just stare at him, with his regular old wide, unphased eyes… but beginning to melt away on the inside.

To go and murder sleep…

A nightmare entered the detective's mind. He pictured himself doing it. The knife in his bony hands…

The _blood…_

He prayed he not think about it. But, what else was he to do? He was nearly crying internally. At the very moment, Raito was over there, behind him. His poor neck, his life… he could not just forfeit it like that. For Kira to kill him now, to hell with that fate! But Matsuda down there… it wasn't as if he was dead or anything. Oh dear lord… what if he actually _woke up_ before L could do anything? The raven's stomach turned.

Oh, what was L to do…?

--

All the while as the two men sat flustered and angry, not too long a ways away… a girl treaded, in a much different—yet all too similar—situation.

The young woman stormed terrified through the different streets and alleyways. She kicked herself for getting so lost, and with such stern directions. Her mind was terribly clouded, all the fear, all the awful things that she had been made to do.

And on the way to see _her._

All of a sudden, a brisk hand stopped her in her tracks.

She turned around. The other woman's eyes were blazing into Misa's with a sharp, smug resentment.

"So, you've come back," she cooed heartlessly, "Amane."

Misa glared. Undoubtably, if it weren't for _this_ person, she wouldn't be in this mess. "Yes, yes I have!" She snarled. "

The dark-haired girl seemed unamused. "I thought you would," she taunted, "but… you're a tad too early."

Misa's pulse went wild with anger. "What?"

The gloominess of the alley put a hazy damper on her frustration. The cold concrete, the dark ground… but it was not the hostility of the _setting_ that was driving her up the wall.

--

_This… this was not her bed._

_Misa arose. It was dim, so very dim. The last thing she could remember was prancing along the sidewalk, hopping about to go see her beloved Raito-kun. But after that, it was blackness… just blackness. And now, she was here._

_As she slowly climbed into consciousness, the girl's palm scratched uneasily against a cold floor. It was dark, she was instantly afraid. She bolted to her knees, head flipping around like that of a terrified rat. Sweat crept down her neck. _

_She gasped. "Hello?" Her voice shook uncontrollably._

_Nobody answered._

_Cautiously she walked, walked forward until she reached what felt unmistakably like a wall. Feeling her way along it, it felt smooth and hard, made of stone or the like. Eventually, her hand came across a door._

_Both curious and frightened, she groped the handle and pulled._

_It stuck._

"_He-hello?" She tried one again. "Hello? Anyone! __Anyone!"_

_Shaking and downhearted, the girl began to pace. As she made strides across the blackened space, she took a great shock as she nearly fell over something obstructive and hard that was in her way._

_Anxiously her hands made way all over it. Eyes adjusting to the darkness, she saw that indeed, it was a box._

_It was a television._

_Misa stared at the thing, wondering even more about were she was. Or how on earth she had gotten there. Fear crept into her heart as the girl thought about all the horrible stalkers, rapists and other people out there. For whatever was going on… _

_MisaMisa had definitely been kidnapped. She shivered._

_Without warning, a brilliant flash of light blazed throughout the room, illuminating most of everything. Misa's heart jumped. No, it was not a light being flicked… the little TV in front of her had turned on. All by itself._

_Kneeling in front of it with a leer, the girl watched as an image appeared on the screen._

_Staring back at her from beyond the glass, was a ghostly white face, what appeared to be a sort of puppet. Crimson swirls adorned its offensive face, along with red and black eyes that pierced and almost appeared to follow her._

_What really began to chill her, though, was when it started to speak._

"Hello, Misa,"_ It called. The puppeteer's voice was deep and frightening, somewhat of a whispering drone that _brought a hunch into her spine. "You have been a very good girl to your beloved Raito, haven't you? So well that you may even give your own life for the greater good. But would you give his? I'll tell you what I mean. Listen to me, miss Amane. Nobody knows of this, not even L. But I have been studying the case of Kira for some time now, and my friend has been watching you very closely. From what I hear, you are a very special girl, no lie. You play an important role in this "new world" of his, do you not? Well, it could be devastating to Raito's plans if anything were to happen to you. So, since you are ever so devoted to this idea, I have composed a little game for you. Distrust what I say, and the consequences will be dire. There is a deadly poison running through your veins, Amane. The only existing antidote has been entrusted to my apprentice, whom you will find easily, as she is in the building with you as you listen to this. But she has been instructed not to hand it to you until the game is completed. Listen to her, and you will understand the rules. Let the game begin."

_Shortly after the screen turned itself back off and Misa was left to wallow stunned, there was a click in the darkness and the creaking sound of a door opening. Turning around, the girl saw the light and in it, the shadow stood in a bored slump._

_She stared. "You… you?"_

"_Time to play."_

--

"I did it, didn't I?" She wailed. "Now just let me go!"

"It's not over!" The other breathed. "It's the rules."

"You don't even know what you're doing!" Misa yelled. "If Raito-kun could only find you, then he… he'd…"

"Kill me," the woman finished for her, with a little bit of a smirk. "Too bad," she grinned, "I guess we found him first."

Misa glared. How _did_ he manage to find Kira first? He was like L! Just with more of a backbone to follow up his cunning. The mysterious man who was apparently pulling the strings here—he was amazing. So cold and manipulative. She remembered doing the deeds herself… that ugly mask she had worn throughout it all, the cloak… and not a single darned hand from the apprentice girl. She recalled her aching heart as she crept up behind them in the night, holding breath in paranoia, the chloroform in hand… it was not as bad when she had aimed to trap the detective, even Matsuda wasn't totally overwhelming. But when she crept up on her Raito…

She had even had to watch as that evil woman tied them up, those horrendous wires encircling her love's body. All bits and pieces of the twisted 'game'... All under the promise that, according to _her,_ 'if he's really worth loving, he will be just fine.'

The blonde sighed at her, tired out and knowing in her heart that there was nothing she could do. Misa had the eyes, of course, it was not out of the question to locate her death note and write the witch's name in bold, black letters. She'd be doing Kira's work if a woman like that were destroyed. But if she did that, then the key to her life would be lost… and she would never let down her Raito-kun like that... Although…

She threw her head back in exasperation, looking to the sky and beholding the approaching glow of the afternoon light.

--

Back in the basement, the fearful brunette man sprang back to his senses. He had been daydreaming.

The unforgiving atmosphere called to him again. Heart rushing, he eased his shoulders around, itching and fearing to see what time it was.

With an icy jolt he read:

_Twelve thirty-five._

A tingle ignited in his skin, especially that grasped by the knives. And so the tension was building up. If what this "jigsaw killer" said was true, then…

In not too long, it would be the time to panic.

--

**Sorries 'bout that!! Another long wait. Still a little sad... :( You may have to expect another wait, as the end is drawing near and I'm still unsure of how it will go. Those of you who've seen the third Saw movie (I didn't like it very much but that's beside the point) know about Amanda and her little twists... But I'll leave you in suspense on that, muahaha.**

**To be continued.**


	5. Oh Yes, There Will Be Blood

Twenty-three minutes. Twenty-three minutes. Twenty-three minutes.

L was starting to sweat.

He feared himself almost more than he did Raito. This trap was real… he knew it was. And it was about time he'd forced himself into believing it. But his damned conceited head wasn't bound to listen. Oh, how he wondered, what would his nemesis be thinking about now? A peculiar thing it was. Although L was no better by himself, given circumstances, the other man seemed rather withdrawn. Was that Raito?

No… that was Kira.

And L… he despised to lose.

As the minutes were ticking past, across the barrier sat another man who could not lose, with, of course, his own set of problems.

Raito turned back to the hundreds of cruel blades that encircled him. He wondered if there was a way to somehow loosen the bindings, and get out of this place with the deeply threatened skin of his lower body intact. Perhaps it was another part of the game… to test the dexterity of the all-powerful Kira. In his heart, Raito got the sense that it was a silly idea, but, on the other hand, anything and everything was worth a try.

He ran his hands around the metal with great care once again. The glow from the other side of the wall was still spilling in tiny tresses across his vision, allowing a mass of tiny little glares to guide him. Squeezing his eyes tight, he inched his knees up just a bit, feeling the frozen spikes. From what his skin and palms observed, the razors were not set in straight coils—they were, somewhat crosshatched. Wires… coiling around more wires. This had been arranged, he assumed, so that as he tried to escape, horizontal blades would keep him—and the vertical blades, they would slice him.

A shiver.

The man knew deep down—and it was slowly creeping its way upward—that simply pondering things over was not a luxury that could be kept for long. In less than a half an hour, those doors would shut closed, and the two men would be trapped, left for dead by the fault of their own cowardice.

And there was no way in hell that he would sit decaying next to _him_ for all eternity.

But, at the same time, there was that other variable that should be plaguing him… the variable of L.

Despite said worry, however, Raito still felt confident regarding. Any idiot who would go through that much trouble to catch a justified killer would never kill a human being himself.

But… what if it were to catch that killer?

--

Gentle as a feather, the detective laid a hand upon his coworker's dead-asleep shoulder. He withdrew it in a flash.

What… what on earth would he be thinking?

L was justice. He would prevail over the evil Kira… but, if he were actually to go and commit such a heinous action, how would he turn out any better than… shudder… Kira himself?

But, he could kill Kira…

Wait, killing Kira with an evil of his own? L was not perfect, but it still seemed absurd.

But the man's thoughts were shattered as a metallic slither from behind put a rush to his adrenaline.

The _wire!_

L gasped. Lightening quick his hand flew up to grasp the leash, which in turn sent an array of horrible knives slicing through the skin.

"_Aaaah!"_

Raito! The bastard!

As the blade in hand was readied, unbeknownst to the detective's unfocused leer… two eyes that lay dulland drugged beneath him were just beginning to blink.

"R... Ryuu…?"

The raven let out a terrified scream that would wake the dead, as the noose drew taut and the knife in his hand slashed downwards.

As his eyes snapped shut in shock, a dull scratching sound was heard. The sound of steel on concrete.

He had missed.

L was paralyzed enough at the moment, with the quick belief that he had just gored another human being by his own hand.

"Ah, Yagami-kun!" He shrieked. But at an instant, the thought dashed into his head. Raito did not give a damn about working together to solve the problem, if that had even been possible; as it seemed, these games were never to be won without a price. No, Raito had been granted more options than L had. At the very least, the man could have waited for him to make a move…

...If L would have even made a move at all.

Just as that thought shook him and the wicked fire burned inside his chest, something happened. The wounds of his fingers smarted still, but the wire… it just lay there, completely gentle.

_What?_

_--_

So, it would come to that.

A significant hole in Raito's train of though was just filled. He, as he was before, was still safe and sound in his chair. No sacrifice to himself had been made—aside from the fact that the detective was bound never to trust him again. But now he knew the truth about L… from that little test.

The strike of the knife on the floor had proved it all. So he would do it, the stage was set. The primitive heart of L had been revealed. He was savage enough to kill for his own good when "justice" was at stake, and was probably sure by now that Yagami Raito was Kira. Now, as far as he could tell, it would be nothing more than a race.

Push up through the razors. Raito.

--

After her attempt to shoo 'Kira's little helper' away, Amanda sat frustrated in the small workspace she had forged for herself. It was a tiny little hideaway, all the space that one would require for such an insignificant stay in Japan. It was an unnecessary hassle. It was a darkness that had been following her much recently. In a totally honest sense, from the very moment John had given her the order she had questioned him.

As she had taken the unconscious detective from Misa and leashed him up, and even more so when she bound that coworker of his… she had recalled the message that John had sent for L to do. _'…Hidden inside the body of your sleeping coworker.'_ It had reminded her blatantly of herself… and the first time that she had played.

'_The key is in the stomach of your dead cellmate.'_

Yep, that was John for you. Good old Jigsaw. For when Amanda had played, the torture was a blessing, not a bland horror, as she had perceived it as at first.

'_He _helped_ me.'_

That man, the one she had been forced to slay, was a drug dealer. In reality, he had been killing her more than Jigsaw ever could. And by his death, she had been enlightened as she had never been before. Some people were so ungrateful to be alive. But not her… not anymore. Yes, Mr. John Kramer—Jigsaw—had been the star justice in this life of hers. But something happened not too shortly after that. A new justice, a peculiar one that sought out the diseases on society and swiped them away like ants with a power she and her mentor could never touch.

Raito Yagami—Kira.

That idea changed Amanda's thoughts on life forever, Instead of simply playing games with people, why not just do away with their sorry lives altogether?

But apparently, the mentor didn't exactly agree with her. According to him, Kira was the evil one. But how? It made no sense to her.

L, on the other hand, now he has a lesson to learn from all this. To rebel, to stand against such a force of good…

Fuck him. The only man who deserved to win this game was Kira,

As Amanda pondered her mission and its possibilities, she had an idea.

Kidnap the Amane girl. Learn as much as you can from her, and use that knowledge to snag the other two. And then the game began. When one prevailed, regardless of who it was, the game was over, the girl was freed, and that was it. Those were John's rules.

But John wasn't there.

Time had continued to pass, and Misa still hadn't left her spot. She paced and paced, remaining her usual stubborn self until her predicament was done with. She was growing more anxious by the second. Was Raito-Kun okay? How much time he have left?

In the middle of her worries, footsteps were heard.

"Hey," came her captor's voice.

Misa looked in her direction. Oh no… was it over already? What had happened?

But as the dark-haired woman stood before her, she was greeted by an unexpected action. Amanda took a submissive stance, and handed her a shiny metal object. It was a gun.

Misa was confused and scared. "W-what?"

Amanda smirked. "Come on. We're taking the rules into our own hands."

After a second or two of Misa's blank staring, the woman added,

"It's what Kira wants."

--

Only a little more than ten minutes were remaining.

The tension had officially built up. That one little startle had done dreadful things to L. Blood was still flowing from his hand, but it was nothing compared to the wound that scarred his soul. He was doing it,

L was going to kill Matsuda.

There was no doubt that the idea of this "game" was to desecrate his image, to get him to be the murderer for once, as it was said so on the tape.

As sick as it sounded, there was no other way out of it. If he didn't take this one life, then it would all be over. Kira would be the winner, and it was obvious now that Raito was Kira. It was obvious because he was an intelligent person, and if he really cared for L's existence and the defeat of Kira, then he would have used the option of waiting for L to finish and escaping with both lives intact. It was still barbaric, but it was a way.

Only Kira would be killing him so quickly.

--

Although it was cold in the room, the emotion created by the atmosphere was blazing. The wires wouldn't be getting any looser.

He squirmed.

They were there. They gnawed and threatened. L was on to him. Sure, he could have been friendly, kept up his usual disguise, But that ship had sailed.

Raito closed his eyes tight and lifted.

All it took was a little movement, and they were at work. Hundreds of them in his skin, slashing their way through. A groan of pain escaped his lips.

Like the time, everything happened extremely fast. The man was apt to waste no time in getting out of the place. His fingers helped him on the way. He fiddled with the wires over and over again, trying to get an easier slide. But this only cut his palms up too, and the more he manipulated, the more the razors tore.

But then again… that was probably what he was supposed to do,

His squirming became more frustrated as his heart shuffled the adrenaline around his body. This should have taken his mind off of the stinging, but then he remembered the tape.

Poison.

That's what it was. The thought had him nervous, but it also acted as a motivator. The voice had told him of its nasty qualities, making him move all the more quickly. He drew an agonized breath as he could feel the tendons of his ankles being severed.

Another yelp. He could almost see, when he dared to look, the blood, flowing in a multitude of trickles down his legs. Faster, faster. Cuts were around to six inches long by now, he guessed, nagging at him with their acid-like power. He was wracked with pain, but persisted.

'_Or will you bow to the emotions of another human being for once?'_

No, sir. No he had not.

Within a few minutes, Raito sat upon the chair in an almost L-like position, one leg still caught up in the web, exhausted from the pain. With a final burst, he ripped it upwards, tearing the last of the grisly dashes in his flesh.

He leaped forward, collapsing upon the cold, unforgiving floor. Tears nearly flowed at his eyes. He had done it, he was free… Shoulders trembling, he took a small look behind him. His legs were sprawled out in gory shreds on the concrete, blood streaming. The blades had cut him deeper than he had expected, and the poison could be felt working… it was comparable to a million malicious wasps, drilling at his body and making it throb with anguish.

Thankfully, it would soon be placed behind him… now, to search for those pliers… and to kill L.

The man tried to stand up. However, the attempt was futile; his mangled ankles absolutely refused to support him. And even when he tried to crawl, the raw flesh of his knees would burn from the contact. There, somewhere down in the darkness was his way out. Ever so slowly, he started to inch his way across the room.

Raito found that if he crawled a certain way, the experience was made a little bit less torturous. He found places where the cuts were somewhat smaller, and eased upon those. This made his pace slightly quicker, but "slightly" couldn't be quick enough. Using nicked hands, he pulled himself along at around a foot a second, trying his hardest to ignore the feeling of it all. But through all this, of course, he could not tell that the wire that connected him and the detective was growing tauter.

It had occurred to him that, even though he was freed, this wasn't going to be any easier. Not only because of the slashes, but because of that and the fact that he was utterly groping on the dark for something as small as a pair of pliers. Stretching his arms into the unknown territory, Raito hoisted further.

However, his knees began to sear as a hearty resistance on the line drew him upwards.

Damn it. Ryuuzaki! He had totally forgotten in his haze about the detective. The wire was pulling close on him, to which he returned with another harsh tug of his own.

--

"Y-Yagam… i!"

The palms if L's hands were bleeding seriously. His fingers were gripping tightly around the razor wire, and it was a painful ordeal trying to hold it still. The murderer on the other end was out for his life, and he could not let him prevail.

The knife.

L cautiously let one hand off of the tether, and let out a humiliating yell as the thorns slid horribly straight through him. A few inches along, and the agonized hand caught a hold once more.

L took a straining look at Matsuda, so innocent. All the while, the razors still would not cease their pulling. Thinking about the mission that was given to him via the tape in his pocket, he shivered. Taking a second to decipher some of the vile words, he slowly let his hand down over the other man, who lay on his back, and pulled the shirt gently up his body.

And sure enough, drawn up in ominous black marker on the man's abdomen—was a large "X."

The detective searched along the floor, and quickly he relocated it. The knife was right there. Small, cold… and evil. Somewhat unable to move due the tension, he took the tool in hand and, almost crying to himself—something he had almost never done—he steadied it above the spot.

In pure desperation, his shining blade plunged forward.

--

**Yeah, chapter title taken from Saw II...**

**Geh. I told myself I was going to cool it with the cliffies, but this is the biggest cliffie yet. Oh wells. It did it to prevent suckishness. Sorries as that wait was a little longer than I had expected, I had stuff to do for school and my bloody ancient version of Word was bein' a bitch (gots a new one though!). So I pray this chapter's good. I tried my best to keep it a steady balance between "rushed" and "lagging/repetitive."**

**To be continued...**


	6. Closer to the Edge

Where… where was he?

The thoughts that ran in him were drifting slowly as molasses. It was like thinking with a head full of muddy water.

This morning was much slower than usual. Oh god… what had happened last night?

Casually, Matsuda aimed to lift himself up, but nothing happened. The man was stuck down, seemingly. In what he first unknowingly thought of as a hangover hell, all he could see was darkness… his eyes wouldn't even open. His spine would barely even move to support him. Sure, he'd been tired, but this was something utterly different.

Just as he was still in the belief that he was safe in his bed, Matsuda heard something.

He could not see. He could barely hear. But, there was surely a presence with him.

And… and…

Voices?

They were there. Just audible. A little, tiny, ghostly whisper.

"_Yagami!"_

One that almost sounded like a scream, and… a slick, metallic sound like two knives scraping each other.

_What?_ With subtle desperation, his eyes twitched in a weak attempt to see outside their drug-like cloud.

There was someone standing over him.

And with that, he remembered it all.

--

_CLANK_

Heart racing in his ears, the striking noise barely made it through his ears.

He had missed again.

L was now shaking with the tension. Eyes frozen by the heartless walls surrounding him, he hardly noticed it beneath him. It was impossible. How could he have missed? As if he wasn't undergoing enough torture already! All the man wanted to do was get it over with, he would deal with the emotional torment later. The knife… he had it held right there… and with one horrible jab he would… he would have…

But as L glanced down, he recognized in horror exactly what had caused him to fail.

Matsuda had moved. The victim was now awake,

"R-R… Ryuuzaki?"

Had the man on the other side of the wall not been trying so hard to tear his throat and wrist open, the detective would have frozen stiff.

There, he saw it. Matsuda was now lying there, fully conscious—or half, conscious, it was difficult to tell—in front of him, sitting helplessly under the blade. L could feel the center of his chest constrict with the anguish. Just when he thought he was going to get his way out, god damn it all! Even though he cursed the way he was thinking, L's bloody righteous mind was going to ruin everything.

But as he was giving up, the tether protested with a bloodthirsty yank.

"_Aaaaah!"_

Matsuda saw the darting glimmer.

"_Ryuuzaki!"_

But no scraping noise was heard that time, and L felt blood washing his free hand.

A pitiful choking noise sounded from beneath the raven. It was truly heartrending, but did not prevent the strangled man from lifting the blade another time.

The detective shrieked again as his fingers took another slide through the razors, and a series of shining slashes rained downward.

It was a pathetic lot, actually. For the bloodied cries for mercy that flew out of the man, L was only making gashes in his left side—futile in the search for his goal, and wasteful.

Trembling, the detective took aim upon the marked spot.

However, right as he was plunging in for the kill, an alien sound was heard. L's wrist jerked at the last second, letting no mare than a glistening scratch open across his coworker's abdomen.

There were voices. On the other side of the wall, a door clicked open.

--

That god-forsaken detective on the other end still would not give up!

Raito had tried, he had really tried. He had searched the entire plane in front of him, used he whole of his arm to do it. But no, it was not there… not a pair of pliers to be felt. They were farther off into the space.

Farther than L would let him reach. He hated him now more than ever. It was totally clear, the only way to find the utensil was to kill L with the tether. All he had to do was fucking try harder. From behind him, he could still feel the wicked tangle of wires he had left behind snarling. He didn't need the razors to feel the excruciating pain that was boiling in the scars.

But, in comparison to earlier, the pain actually wasn't as bad.

A frightening sensation was beginning to pull him over. Raito's limbs were growing harder and harder to move,

He recalled the warning in the message. What he was feeling was not simply the dulling of the pain. Raito was going numb… paralyzed.

Now he absolutely _had_ to move quicker.

The man was now scrambling like he never had been before. Shaking off the creeping numbness, he gave an exceptionally rough pull to the wire. He cared not for L or his battered knees sliding across the floor. All he wished for was to leave and get on with his life.

In the near total darkness of the room, Raito heard a click.

Instantly he flipped his head to see where the noise had come from. Along with the clicking followed a heavy creaking sound.

A door had been opened for him.

Someone outside called. "Raito-kun! Will he still be okay?"

He sprang up. It was Misa's voice.

All the while the man stayed frozen in his spot, and all became silent. The creaking stopped, and a different voice shouted.

"I'll let him out, don't you worry! Just take care of the other two!"

Raito's heart leapt. A person! There was a person there! Another woman, apparently, he could tell from the voice. Was she with the police somehow? Had they found them? But of course… when the world's greatest detective goes missing, someone _has_ to notice.

All of a sudden a glow splashed about the chamber. It was not the brightest in the world, but it was enough to illuminate his surroundings.

At last, the man saw what he had been trapped in. It was indeed a dirty-looking area, somewhat resembling an old cellar, plain and damp-looking with walls of concrete and stone here and there. From where he lay, the place stretched on for about fifteen, maybe twenty more feet. And there, sitting just shy of the floor's end, were the notorious pliers, just waiting to be used.

The mysterious woman ran in their direction. She looked about Misa's age, though probably a bit older, with brunette hair. Appearing to be in a hurry, she grabbed the pair of pliers and rushed to Raito's side.

"Who are you?" He inquired shakily.

The girl looked back at him. "A friend."

Raito did not know who this person was, or why she wished to help him. Sure, he had a thousand estimates, but all he cared about at the moment was that he had escaped the game… he was going to be set free.

--

L froze. He heard voices.

Had they been found? Were the police there? Oh dear… L didn't know whether to be frightened or overwhelmed with joy. If L were truly being rescued, then he wouldn't have to continue. The gashes could be explained, and maybe Matsuda wouldn't die…

It was not long before a similar sound was heard in the metal door that stood at his right.

L's grip on the knife grew a little looser. He relaxed his pose, letting space form between him and Matsuda's writhing form. One thing he found peculiar was that the line of razor wire that had shredded his flesh so had now become totally limp.

"Who are you?"

"A friend."

That was from Kira's cell.

Before L could make any elaborate thoughts of the situation, his heart raced as the door of his wall flung open.

At that point everything stood still, until he saw exactly what was there to greet him.

"…Miss Amane?"

It was her, alright. She stood in front of him vibrant blonde hair and all.

In her hand sat a shining revolver, pointed directly at him.

Her bubbly voice came out in a stern squeak. "It's the rules!"

"Miss Amane, what are you—"

A deafening crack broke the atmosphere.

Fortunately for L, Misa turned out to be a terrible shot, at least on the first try. The bullet struck just shy of L's wrist, which lay on the ground. _'It's the rules.'_ Misa was definitely part of this game, too. He knew that Misa probably found him annoying, and was without a doubt the second Kira, but such a girl performing violent murder was a strange thought.

And on the other side, Raito was obviously being saved… Some cruel being here feared and loathed L.

The girl's finger touched the trigger again. With daring speed, L used his freedom to dodge the aim, but Misa's accuracy was a tad better this time. A hot pain erupted in his foot, definitely not enough to kill the man, but crippling nonetheless. In a second, another shot was fired, this one striking higher up the leg, landing him to the concrete.

In agony, L looked up at his attacker. So, this was how he was going to die, eh? Shot to death in a wet basement by his enemy's girlfriend? It was almost more reasonable to be murdered by Kira himself.

"Oh!"

The girl yelped, and there was a thud. Glancing upwards bleakly, and saw that she had fallen straight to the hard floor. The gun was now lying a few feet away from her.

L tried to stand up, while watching Misa struggle. But, as she was groping for her weapon, she was met by a sharp kick to the face.

It was Matsuda. Seeming to ignore his bleeding side, he was inching vigorously upon the ground, fighting against L's assassin with all his might. With a few more blows of tied feet, he managed to keep her grounded for a little while and kicked the gun far over to L's half of the cell.

For some quick seconds as the one fighter got her bearings, Matsuda picked up the abandoned knife on the floor with his teeth and wriggled over to the detective.

"Ryuuzaki…" He spoke as he got close. After he was next to him, he continued.

"The ropes…" he said, cut… the ropes, Ryuuzaki. Hurry."

L did as he was told. Within moments, the man was freed. He stood up, clutching his gashes with a straining appearence that was difficult to behold on his normally cheerful face. He leaned downwards and whispered to L,

"I'm bleeding… so I'll be quick. You'll have to hold her off on your own. But don't worry… I'll get us help."

L nodded at him. "Alright," he said.

With that, Matsuda turned around and rushed out the door, heavily dripping crimson as he went.

As the man sailed outwards, Misa had just arisen to her feet, The girl jerked at him and made a gesture to follow, but then stuck to her spot, confused on what to do, shaking with a whiny look in her eyes. She looked out into the apparent hallway, and then to L.

The detective stood up, limping on his wounded leg. He looked at the gun.

But as he began to make an advance away, the blonde girl turned on him at an instant.

She rushed at him with crying fury, L got ready to fight. Bearing in mind his leg—and the pain numbed his thoughts—Misa was still a woman, easy to fend off.

This whole idea broke apart as she made a dive for her former weapon. L took alarm and jumped atop her, trying to get at it before she did.

Thankfully, this time, L won.

He took the revolver in his hand, and stood with it pointed at her, making little steps towards the door. But apparently, she too doubted his capacity to kill. Misa charged the man, and maliciously yanked at his weak spot… the wire, which still trailed dormant behind him.

Though it would end up hurting her as well, she grasped the chain and pulled it swiftly. Before serious damage could be done, he snagged his leash again.

There it was again. The razors, the horrible razors… they had returned to eat him. Through the pain and the desperation, he heard Misa's voice.

"You… need to die!" She squeaked.

And then another thing.

"Misa… doesn't want to die now!"

L didn't know what she was referring to exactly, but knew that it had something to do with the "game."

L's hand was much stronger than hers was, but at least she had two of them, and not one that was already swollen with the torture of past cuts. More pain arose as the wire slipped again, blades ripping the skin like tissue paper, slicing frighteningly close to bone.

The next second, the searing came around with more force than ever. The liquid heat flew straight through him and the first small scratch reached his throat, L's life was on the line. The gun was still shaking in his hand. The girl's eyes became hopeful; it looked like she had finally killed him.

_CRACK_

It was cold. It was cold and it was damp, and the floor beneath him reeked of death and gore.

A sick, warm sensation trickled up through the detective's fingertips, bleeding its toxic path through his flesh and eating at his very soul. Hands thick with red trembled exhaustedly, blazing at the pain of which they had achieved.

Misa stared him in the face, with the eye of the highest form of disappointment. A deep gape now rested in her chest, from which the warm fluid was streaming freely. In a moment or two, she fell to L's feet with a painful-sounding thud. All the weary detective did was stare back at her, unsure of what to think now.

Within minutes the girl lay on the floor before him, eyes closed, blood spilling in the plenty.

She was dead.

L was now half oblivious to the heat trickling from his fingers. And so it had happened… L had killed a person anyways, whether it was Matsuda or not. In a way, he wondered if that had been another part of the killer's trap all along. But all other circumstances aside, for once in his life the raven was actually dead tired of thinking.

Slowly he took himself and limped his hurt way to the exit.

The hall he walked through was not like the cellar. It felt a lot like it, with the grainy stone floor and all… however it was not merely dim… it was pitch dark. One had to hold the wall in order to find his way. Although, as long as he didn't trip over any dead bodies or the like along the way he way, or step in pools of blood… he was just content to be alive.

Every now and then, L thought he saw a flicker of light pass its way through the ceiling and pierce the black a little. With each step brought a small bit more hope to his soul.

The man had cleared a reasonable amount of space, when all of a sudden, in the dead silence of the corridor…

A voice that dripped with hatred spoke to him, right before a fierce strike to the skull fell him to the floor.

"_Hello, detective…"_

--

**Pay no attention to A/N, chapters 6 and 7 are really just one... continue...**


	7. The End

_-Click-_

L had just awoken. For a few blissful moments, he had forgotten what had taken place not too much earlier. But as he made a pitiful raise of his head, neck straining as he roused himself from the little coma, his eyes as they opened were greeted with a sight that shocked him,

He had recalled it all by now, unfortunately. Not even bothering to go back in detail on the incident, for fear that it would drive his once calm and calculating mind into insanity, all he did was pay attention to the dead, lonesome field that floated before his eyes.

Everything surrounding him, all that sad, dim-lit space that once lay round… was now completely and utterly dark.

At once he grasped hold of the pure alarm of the situation…

Darkness. Cold. Wet concrete.

He was back again.

_NO!_

Springing to an upright position, L flung his glance in all directions. Fully conscious now, he felt something positioned around his neck…

But this time, it was not a wire.

The detective's hands leaped to the spot. There was something soft, a strap. From it dangled something heavier… box-shaped, and plastic.

_The tape recorder._

L's brain felt dashed. That one blow to the head as he had treaded the hallway… he felt so stupid... as hard as it was for L to call himself that. In his chest dwelt the unmistakable burn of hopelessness and shame.

The man picked up the device, and pressed the button… just the same as he had done before.

The voice on this tape was not what he had heard at first. It was not a man who recited the words, rather, it was the voice of a woman. But, it was not just any woman's voice.

It was _her._

It was spoken in a manner that resembled the one of the husky-voiced man, only the tone sounded a little bit unprofessional and choppy compared to his, as it was not calm, but dripping with malice in the words. It was mouthed like a poorly done copy… like an apprentice mimicking the master.

"_Hello, detective, This is the final message I have for you to hear, In the days of what you call your life, you say you work for justice. But when Kira came around, what did you do? You mock him, treat him as your enemy… when in fact, he is the true justice in this world, and the killer of your enemies, criminals. And what does that make you, L? I say it makes you the real evil. And as Kira does, all who are evil will die…_

…Game over!"

The man stood right up and got to walking around. Was this yet another trap?

However, as he walked he felt that indeed this was the same room that he was in before. Only now, when he groped for the light switch, he could tell there was none.

Once, he came to the iron door. He felt all along it, pushing and pulling in all the places he could find.

But none would let it open.

L allowed himself to slip down to the ground. He laid his head upon the dampened floor, unaware of what could be done next.

'_Don't worry, I'll get us help."_

The detective closed his eyes and fell into the darkness, with none but Matsuda's bloodied trail to hold him company.

--

**Gah! This story, it became open-ended… I sorries!**

**But, on the other hand, I suppose that it's appropriate… I mean, Saw movies tend to end like that… open-ended, and not too happy. I hope I didn't disappoint anyone... Anyways, I still hope this is a good fic. In the end, it really turned out to be kind of more about L than Light, contrary to what the summary suggests... but, L is way more awesomer anyways.**

**Read and review, Sheep Dog**


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